1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of refurbishing a process cartridge detachably attachable to, for example, the main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is an apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process.
An electrophotographic copy machine, an electrophotographic printer (a laser printer, an LED printer, and the like) a facsimile apparatus, a word processor, and the like, for example, are included as an example of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
Further, the process cartridge includes at least one of charging means, developing means, and cleaning means and a photosensitive drum acting as an electrophotographic sensitive member, which are integrated into a cartridge, and the process cartridge is detachably attachable to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
Heretofore, an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process employs a process cartridge system in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means that acts on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are intergrated into a cartridge and the cartridge is detachably attachable to the main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
According to the process cartridge system, since the maintenance of the apparatus can be executed by a user without depending on a service man, the operability of the apparatus can be greatly enhanced.
Since the process cartridge forms an image on a recording medium using a developing agent, the developing agent is consumed and deteriorates as images are formed. When the developing agent is consumed and deteriorates to such a degree that an image cannot be formed, the process cartridge loses its commercial value.
To cope with this problem, although the process cartridge must be replaced, it is recently desired to reuse the process cartridge whose life has been ended as far as possible from a viewpoint of environmental conservation, and refurbishing of process cartridges has been conducted.
As a conventional method of refurbishing the process cartridge, there is a method of breaking down and refurbishing a cartridge composed of a developing agent frame or a developing frame swingably coupled with a drum frame by breaking down a cartridge main body by extracting a pin or the like that swingably couples both frames (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-14593 (pages 23–26) and H07-121086 (pages 22–25).
Further, there is a method of breaking down and refurbishing a cartridge composed of a plurality of frames separably coupled with each other by separating a developing agent frame from a development frame (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-130740 (pages 5–7).
However, since the conventional process cartridge refurbishing methods as described above are very troublesome and time consuming, a simpler refurbishing method has been desired.
Further, there has been desired a simple refurbishing method capable of recommercializing a process cartridge whose commercial value is lost owing to the developing agent contained therein being consumed and deteriorating.